One Grave Less

kissed her cheek.
    “Good to see you, girl,” he said.
    “Good to see you too, Gregory,” she said. “I’m so glad you are here.”
    Gregory gave David a hug and a slap on the back. “You keeping all the conspirators at bay?”
    “You have no idea,” said David.
    “This is a nice surprise,” said Diane to Gregory. “You’ve had a long trip. I hope you haven’t had lunch yet.”
    She didn’t want to get into any unpleasant topics until after they ate. Gregory obviously needed their help.
    “Oh, heavens no. Came straight here from the airport,” Gregory said.
    Diane turned to Andie. “Has the restaurant delivered lunch?”
    “Just got here. It’s in your sitting room,” said Andie.
    Gregory loved American cheeseburgers, and the museum’s restaurant made great burgers. Diane had called ahead and ordered lunch for the three of them to be sent to her office. Andie had the waitstaff set up the meal on the coffee table between the sofa and two stuffed chairs. The food was covered with stainless-steel dome covers. A pitcher of tea sat amid the serving dishes. Diane removed the covers to a table, poured the tea, and sat down on the sofa. David and Gregory each sat in one of the chairs across from Diane.
    “Very nice,” said Gregory. “I hope you don’t mind my coming early,” he said. “And Marguerite sends her regrets. I thought I could do some sightseeing, see what kind of prostitutes you have this side of the pond. Guess you heard that story.”
    “Yes,” said Diane. She looked at David. They were both a little puzzled.
    He took a bite of his burger. “This is good. You Yanks are always first class on the burgers. You don’t have to put me up. I can stay at the local inn.”
    “You aren’t here about the rumor?” said Diane.
    “What? Heavens, no. I’ve hired detectives to sort that out,” said Gregory. “I’m here for the wedding. I realize I’m early . . .”
    “Actually, they haven’t told me when it is,” said Diane.
    Gregory stopped with his burger halfway to his mouth.
    “You are going to have to explain that one,” he said.
    It was David who did the explaining.
    “Diane wants to go to a judge and have it done within five minutes. Vanessa—she’s told you about Vanessa—wouldn’t hear of it, nor would any of Diane’s friends, and they discovered that they didn’t really need her cooperation to plan her wedding. I know more about it than Diane does.”
    Gregory looked from one to the other. “That’s not just his peculiar sense of humor, is it? He means it.”
    “ ’ Fraid so,” said Diane, munching on her own cheese-burger.
    “So what are they going to do? When it’s time, your friends will climb in your window and carry you off? Sounds rather tribal.”
    “Presumably they will let me know in a reasonable amount of time,” she said.
    “I see,” said Gregory. “Well, should I spoil the surprise?”
    “Please do,” said Diane.
    “You have less than a fortnight to set your affairs in order,” he said.
    Diane sighed.
    “Marguerite would have liked to come. Did I tell you she is pregnant?” he said.
    “No,” said Diane. “You didn’t have to leave her to come to my wedding!”
    “Marguerite is rather odd, verging on alien in her approach to pregnancy and childbirth. She prefers to be alone. She won’t have family in the delivery room—she barely allows the medical staff. On our first, I was going to be there. You know, cut the cord, bond. She looked at me the way only Marguerite can and told me that I could bond by changing nappies, teaching him cricket, and paying for public school.”
    “Still,” said Diane.
    Gregory shook his head. “She told me not to come back until things are sorted out by the detectives and she has killed all the reporters.” He looked at his watch. “Tomorrow she’ll be having an ultrasound. She told me not to come back at all if it’s not a girl. So I may be looking around for a spot of real estate.”
    Diane smiled. “She doesn’t think you . . . ?”
    “Consort with prostitutes? Of course not. It’s a mystery to me where this came from. WAI has always had its share of the political types taking aim at us, but this is taking it too far—and it appears to be only me.”
    “We may be able to provide a clue,” said Diane. “It’s been happening to David and me too.”
    Gregory stopped eating, put down his burger, and stared at them for a long moment. “The two of you? I didn’t expect this.” He shook